Not This Time
by EmeraldLava
Summary: A rift in the space-time continuum alters cartoon history. To correct the distortion, half-ghost Danny Phantom inadvertently teams with a crime fighting duo, a dragon shapeshifter, and a boy with fairly odd parents.
1. Chapter 1

**Edit:** Corrected a few typos.

_Not This Time_

Friday the thirteenth had an infamous superstition in some cultures. The day was suspected to be bad luck, or simply lacking in luck, depending upon perspective. It was a day when many preferred to remain indoors. Even Johnny 13 and his shadow, both known for their fearlessly unlucky nature, refused to wander around on that particular Friday.

Strange things happened on superstitious days.

"Would you _knock it off!"_

Danny Fenton, currently in his Phantom persona, hurled through the air. Valiantly, he attempted to evade a clingy ghost.

"Won't you be my _friend?" _

The blue skinned, pajama-clad ghost chased relentlessly after the poor halfa. Through the Ghost Zone they went, around hovering doors, over other ghost's domains, and through the space-like dimension. Soon the boy's patience was swiftly thinning.

"_Quit it!_"

He hadn't intended on staying so long in the Ghost Zone.

"Be my friend!"

He also hadn't intended on becoming separated from his close companions.

"_No!"_

Luck just didn't seem to be with him that day.

Danny wasn't much of a superstitious guy, but sometimes he wondered about his luck. Like, for example, when the friend-obsessed ghost swerved and managed enough of a boost in speed to narrowly catch the frazzled boy in a hug. Hastily the ghost-boy lurched to the side and successfully avoided one of the ghost's crushing hugs. He was fond of breathing and thus refused to be caught, thanks. Still, he was becoming frustrated.

"Would you just-"

The ghost took another swipe, snagging his ankle, but he hurriedly twisted out of the ghost's grip. Suddenly he gasped as a door floated in his path. Frantically, he spun around the door to avoid a painful collision and grappled with the momentum to steady his flight. Apparently they had entered another section of ghost lairs. Glancing back at his pursuer, he made a hasty decision.

He slammed into a passing door.

And promptly wished he hadn't.

The ancient, navy blue door swung open under his weight, nearly cracking under his momentum's force and speed. Danny's propulsion carried him further into the room until he whammed against a wall. Dust billowed and the teen convulsed in a sneezing fit as he slid down against the wall. While he upchucked snot and caused more dust to shift due to his breath, the ghost boy was unaware that a certain precious artifact shook precariously on its pedestal.

As he continued to sneeze a relatively safe distance away from the device, the object settled on its stand. Without any energy or force disrupting the balance within the room, the artifact would remain secure.

Then Danny went and tripped over an item.

Like dominoes, the hourglass he knocked over toppled against another hourglass and _that _one fell and knocked over yet another hourglass and so forth as they tumbled in a haphazard pattern towards the pedestal. Similar to watching a slow motion horror film, the ghost boy stared as the last glass tapped against the column.

The elaborately designed and grand hourglass resting atop the pedestal tipped, started to fall, touched the ground-

"Oh, crud."

_ -_and shattered.

In an explosion of heat**, **light, sound, glass, and the release of compressed air, jagged shards pierced the air in all directions. Suddenly Danny was flipping, burning, spinning, _so hot, too dizzy_, and _oh _he was gonna be sick. A part of him, (his chest? His face? The world was whirling too violently to think) slammed into a shaking, heated surface. Small sharp things slashed his burning limbs and he flinched. Heat and light scorched his eyes.

Rumbling reverberated and suddenly the lair was still and silent. Slowly he pried his crispy and sliced form from the ceiling and twisted painfully to confront any potential threats that may have been released from the container. Though his eyes were still shut since light still overwhelmed the area, he slipped into a fighting stance.

Soon, however, the light faded and as his eyes adjusted he noticed there was no one else in the room. Relaxing slight;y, his attention focused on the mess on the floor. Hourglasses lay chaotically throughout the room, the majority of them on their side. If the dust was any indication, the ghost's lair was unlived in and unused. Excluding all the hourglasses scattered on the floor, and the shattered remains of the grand hourglass, there were no other possessions or enemies to personify the room.

"_Someone's _obsessed with hourglasses..." he muttered and cringed as he slowly lowered himself to the floor.

He rubbed a gradually healing cheek with a scratched up hand and eyed the lair. There was something familiar about the devices, and a nagging sensation in the back of his mind hinted that he should know _why _they seemed so familiar, as if he should know_ who_ the hourglasses connected to, but the name and face were eluding him. Then there was another bothersome feeling that he had done something drastically wrong by accidentally knocking over that hourglass, but he was all too eager to ignore _that _sensation for now. Pushing the thoughts away, he floated closer to examine the damage.

When he was near enough to touch the oddly undamaged surface of the sapphire base, he leaned forwards and noticed his reflection.

"_Ooo."_ Danny winced, noting his unnaturally rosy face on his normally pale skin. "_That _doesn't look pretty."

Something glinted in the corner of his vision and he shifted his gaze to examine the source. Writing was inscribed on the edge of the base. Curiosity piqued, he leaned closer.

"What in the world...?"

The inscription glowed. A sensation of dread settled in his stomach.

_Possibilities abound, future askew_

_time that once was separate is joined, anew._

_Previously linear is now twisted for few._

Danny frowned. "Weird."

He shifted uncomfortably. The prickling of unease increased into a churning in his gut. Warily, he stood. His gaze subconsciously darted about the navy colored lair, habitually searching for threats he didn't sense.

"Freaky." He muttered, absently noting that no ghost had appeared to attack him.

Shaking himself out of his daze, he was suddenly struck by an unsettling realization.

"Klemper...?" Danny murmured cautiously. "Where'd you go...?"

Nothing but eerie silence answered.

_Something's wrong... _He thought to himself, and it was not just because he had seemingly lost the bothersome ghost. The dread increased.

"Somehow I _really _wouldn't mind Klemper's company right about now." He mumbled.

At least _then _he'd have some normalcy during that day

Deciding not to linger any longer in the tense atmosphere, he rose into the air and hastily flew to the exit. No furious ghost appeared. Unnerved by the sheer lack of any form of beings, he hastened his speed and shot away. He flew fast until the crawling feeling faded.

Though had Danny turned to glance behind him, he would have realized something unusually strange.

The door had vanished.

**~(~_~)~**

Elsewhere, in the lair of a blue-skinned scientist, a Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer flickered to life.

**~(~_~)~**

"Sam? Tucker?" He called for the umpteenth time.

Sighing irritably, he glared at his surroundings. His day had just been _off_. He had actually woken up on time and arrived at school _early._ Dash had shoved him into his locker more than usual. Skulker _and _Ember interrupted his English class _together _with declarations of his defeat. _Then_ he had detention followed by an unusual lack of ghosts to hunt so of _course_ he and his friends decided to try to map out more of the Ghost Zone only for them to become _lost _on the way and they just _had _to run into Klemper, the irritating overly-friendly pest, and so _naturally _the trio were separated when Klemper decided chasing Danny was more fun than guiding them to a familiar area. And _now_ there was probably going to be an angry ghost chasing him for breaking their hourglass and he. Was. Still. _Lost._

_Thunk_.

"_Ow!"_

Tumbling forwards, he whirled to face whatever had smacked against the back of his head. A metal boomerang whirred in place in front of him before stopping and dropping. Hastily, he caught the device and raised the other hand to rub the sore spot. Rumbling echoed and he looked at the source with a smile.

He floated over to the vehicle. "It's about time you showed up."

The gothic driver smiled dryly in return. "If you didn't fly so fast we would've been here sooner."

Danny smiled sheepishly. "C'mon, let's get outta here. This place is weirding me out."

"The _ghost_ boy's spooked of the _Ghost _Zone?" The front passenger teased.

"C'mon guys…" the halfa whined, phasing through the Specter Speeder's windshield and into the empty middle seat. "I was almost mauled by Klemper and a freaky hourglass!. Can't a guy get some sympathy or understanding?"

His two friends shared a glance. "Nope!" They chorused.

"Besides," the goth girl added, "let's hope you didn't destroy something important."

"Yeah!" His techno-geek companion chirped. "For all we know, you just wrecked the space-time continuum!"

"Don't jinx me, Tuck." Danny groaned. "Don't jinx me."

* * *

This story will be a crossover, but since no characters from other cartoons have appeared yet, I'll leave it labeled under Danny Phantom for now.


	2. Chapter 2

_Not This Time_

Eventually the trio found their way to the Fenton portal, but the portal didn't lead to the expected Fenton household.

"You jinxed him." Sam deadpanned.

"Uh, guys?" Danny began as the green portal closed behind them. "I don't think we're in Amity anymore."

His gothic friend made an incoherent irritated noise when she noticed her ghostly friend in the middle seat tapping his heels together.

"Huh." The halfa stopped tapping. "Didn't work."

"Of course it didn't!" She growled, annoyed. "We're not in a fictional world-let alone Oz!"

However, the boy wasn't listening. His eyes, staring at the metal on the yellow house in front of them, had grown wide and his jaw had lowered. Abruptly snapping into action, he grasped the steering controls and jerked it upwards. The Specter Speeder shot into the sky.

"What're-"

He slapped a hand over his techno-geeky friend's mouth. "_Shh_." He hissed, a finger to his lips and jerked his head towards the house.

"That's _Val's _house." He whispered. "We're in Elmerton."

Both of his companions frowned. Danny allowed twin rings of light to encompass his form and reverted back to his Fenton persona.

"Why'd the portal lead to Elmerton instead of Danny's house?" Tucker voiced.

Sam quirked a brow. "You're just _now_ wondering?"

Just then, Valerie herself strode out of the house. Oddly enough, she looked puzzled. The girl shifted the lone backpack strap on her shoulder and started walking. She stared intently at the ground.

"Who's Kim Possible…?" She mused aloud.

The trio shared a glance. "Possible?" The halfa mouthed but Tucker shrugged.

"No clue." He mouthed in return.

By the time the Red Huntress was out of sight Danny smiled wryly. "Vote to go back home and figure out what I did wrong later?"

"Aye." His companions chorused.

"Might be good to go invisible." Sam advised."Wouldn't want Valerie the ghost slayer to notice us."

"Good point."

Bracing his palms against the seat cushion, he transferred his ghost energy into the seat and let it spread throughout the vehicle. Cold flooded their senses until the drop in temperature ebbed into a comfortably cool level. A relaxed hush fell over the group.

"Say." The halfa glanced at the position of the sun. "Why do you think it's morning?"

The goth frowned. "That _is _odd. We couldn't have been in the Ghost Zone _that _long."

"Yeah," the techno-geek added. "I'm not even tired."

The ghost boy groaned. "You don't think I broke into a freaky time changing-" He stiffened.

"Danny?" His best friend prodded. "Hey man, what's up?"

He groaned again. "I am _such _a spazz!"

"Da-"

"_Time_." The boy emphasized. "Which ghost do we know that handles time?"

Sam blinked as realization clicked. "_Clockwork._"

"_Exactly_. I think I broke into Clockwork's _lair._"

Tucker glanced at the halfa. "I thought that fortress thing _was _his lair."

"Do _all _ghosts have a personal lair?" Sam eyed the ghost boy.

"Don't know." The half-ghost shrugged. "I don't even know if that _was _his place. I mean, who else would own hourglasses?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Tucker replied.

The gothic girl smirked. "Guess _your _personal lair is your room." She teased.

Danny smiled dryly as the girl continued. "Though, we ought to apologize."

The boy sighed. "He probably already knows, being master of time and all."

"After breakfast?" She clarified.

"After breakfast." He confirmed.

**~(~_~)~**

They flew invisibly over to the town and chatted idly until they finally flew over Danny's house. While maintaining the invisibility, Danny channeled the prickling sensation of intangibility into his palms and through the Specter Speeder. Sam titled the controls and soon the vehicle descended through the roof of the Ops Center and down into the lab in the basement. After confirming that neither adult Fenton was in the vicinity via his red bereted friend twisting in his seat, the ghost boy halted the flow of energy into the vehicle and both he, his friends, and the Specter Speeder blinked into visibility.

Without a word, Danny transformed and grasped his companion's waists. He floated upwards, phased through the vehicle, and soon turned invisible as the trio passed through the ceiling until they landed in his room.

"Jazz'll have covered for us." The floppy black-haired teen started. "So... Nasty. Burger?"

The goth's face scrunched. "For _breakfast_?"

The boy shrugged. "Last I checked they're were mutant hot dogs in the fridge and I doubt mom, let alone dad, went shopping."

Her shoulders sagged. "Nasty Burger it is."

"And then a movie!" The PDA boy piped up.

Smiling wryly, Sam corrected. "We have to visit Clockwork, remember?"

Tucker shrugged, but he was smiling. "Worth a shot."

"_Danny_?" A different voice cut in and startled the teens. "What are you doing here? You three should be at school!"

The teens shared a puzzled glance as the blue-eyed teen's mother rushed into the room and ushered them out and down the stairs.

It was Sam who found her voice first. "Mrs. Fenton? It's Sat-"

"Hurry or you'll be late!" Maddie ignored her. "Here, I'll drive you."

Danny finally snapped out of his confused trance. His mother never drove him to school.

"Uh," he twisted in her grip but she had a firm grasp. "Mom? Today's not-" Before he could continue, they were suddenly outside then in the car.

"Buckle your seats!" The woman called.

The three complied. Danny decided to humor his mother. "If today's a school day, then what day is it?"

She frowned. "Danny, sweetie, don't be silly! It's Monday."

A choking sound could be heard in the background. The teen turned in the passenger seat to eye his technologically inclined friend. "You don't think we were in the-"

A feminine hand snagged the boy's red beret and stuffed it into his mouth.

"_Tucker."_ The girl whispered fiercely, shooting a pointed head tilt towards Maddie.

The boy smiled sheepishly then swatted her hand away and removed the beret. "_Ew._" His face scrunched. "Now it's wet."

The girl huffed but didn't reply. She shifted her focus onto the slightly amused and faintly worried boy in the front. Catching her stare, the boy side-eyed the driver and tilted his head but the girl shook her head. He nodded and lowered his jaw to mouth a reply.

_"Danny._ Sit and turn around." The blue-eyed boy's mother reprimanded.

Sulkingly, the boy flopped down onto the seat and faced forwards. "So, mom," he began, abruptly ending his frown-fest, "what did you do over the weekend?"

Maddie spun the wheel and the RV turned the corner. Casper High was in sight. "Sweetie, you _know _I've been working in the lab."

"Well I know _that._" He grumbled, eyeing the school with dread then continued half-heartedly to himself. "You always are…"

The car slowed to a stop in front of the building and the teens clambered out of the car.

"Have a nice day, sweetie!" She called, oblivious to her son's sour mood.

"Thanks Mrs. Fenton." Sam and Tucker chorused.

Danny waved as she drove away. "Bye mom!"

It was only until they walked through the doors did they realize they didn't have their backpacks.


	3. Chapter 3

_Not This Time_

Turns out, they were late anyway to their first class. Somehow only by a few minutes, but their English teacher still gave them the stink-eye. However, the plump man was accustomed to the late arrival of one of the three and had learned it was best to ignore the tardy and continue with the lesson. Admittedly, the man was slightly surprised the girl and PDA wielding boy were late. He hoped the Fenton wasn't starting to share his bad habits.

Too soon for the man the class drew to a close. The bell rang.

"Bye Mr. Lancer." Some students droned before zipping out of the room in a whirlwind.

Danny was almost out the door via blending with the crowd but his teacher's voice stopped him.

"Mr. Fenton." The man frowned. "Remember you have detention today."

_Remember?_ The teen wondered. _Just for being late?_

Reading the confusion on his face, the man clarified. "From Thursday last week as well as for not bringing anything today. You arrived late, 'forgot' your homework, left class and didn't return, _and _you didn't go to your detention on Thursday."

_Oh._ He vaguely recalled having a tough time on Thursday followed by the unusual Friday. Then this strange time skip… But it wasn't _his _fault his backpack was left at home. If his mom hadn't dragged him out of the house… Well, at least summer vacation would begin on Wednesday, then he'd be free to some degree.

The teenager sighed. "Right…"

The teacher bid him goodbye as he slumped out the door to his waiting friends. As he walked, he noticed Tucker speaking with fellow nerd Mikey in Esperanto. By the time he approached the ginger had slipped away into the crowd.

"Do I even want to know?"

Tucker turned to him in a puzzled fashion. "Apparently there's some new gossip. Some new face called Kim Possible."

"Didn't Val mention-" His cut himself off when snippets of the crowd's murmurs drifted their way

"She can do anything!"

"I've never heard of her."

"Did you _see _her blog?"

"She's all over the news!"

"She fights crime!"

"Like Danny Phantom?" Some students swooned.

Danny preened.

"Pop that balloon before you start floating." Sam sniped. "I can barely see since your head's so inflated."

He deflated. "Can't a guy appreciate his fans?"

She simply smirked and Tucker snickered. "Apparently not."

They carried on to class as they bickered, momentarily forgetting about the mysterious crime-fighting teen.

**~(~_~)~**

"Alright," Danny plopped the tray on the table and sat down. "Who is this Kim Possible?"

"Survey says…" Sam nudged Tucker and he whipped out his PDA. "17 year old crime fighter, 'she can do anything,' Kim Possible lives in Middleton, Colorado and attends Middleton High. She started her hero work in middle school and has been savingpeople since."

"Huh." The halfa poked a spoon at the slop on his plate. He could've sworn it poked back "Why haven't we heard of her before?"

She nodded. "Yeah. If she's been helping people globally for years, how could people only start to notice _now?_"

Tucker smiled wryly. "This is _Amity Park_, remember? Don't exactly…" he side-eyed Danny, "got a clue."

Catching on but missing the playful jab, the half-ghost raised a hand to rub his neck. "They _did _take a long while to realize ghosts are real."

"Not to mention that a certain ghost looks _exactly like_ a certain someone." Sam whispered with a dry smirk. "Just dye your hair and wear some black and suddenly it's our resident hero."

Danny laughed nervously. "Hey, it's a pretty unlikely story. Impossible, I'd say, if it hadn't actually happened."

Tucker shrugged and tucked away his PDA. "Still," he suddenly smiled, "residents of Amity Park aren't the _only _clueless ones."

"_Tucker._" Sam's cheeks flushed but the half-ghost didn't catch on. "Sh-"

Abruptly the half-ghost gasped, a blue mist rising out of his mouth. "Uh, guys?" Immediately the two stopped to listen, they recognized his ghost sense. "We got trouble.

The room seemed to darken. The students unconsciously shivered as the temperature dropped. A green skinned glowing woman floated into the room. Her long black hair flowed behind her and her gaze settled on the halfa.

"Desiree." Danny hissed, fists clenched.

The students routinely screamed and rushed towards the doors. When the room was clear, Danny ducked beneath the table. One flash of light later and the halfa floated upwards through the table. Oddly enough, the genie seemed uninterested in the teens, as her eyes never strayed from the ghost boy's own.

"What did you do?"

"What did _I _do?" His hands glowed. "What are _you _doing?"

Desiree raised her hands placatingly. "I'm not here to fight."

"Then why _are _you here?"

The ghost's face was grim. "Because the Ghost Zone is not as it should be."

His hands lowered and the ectoplasm diminished. "What do you mean?"

"Lairs are moving to where they shouldn't be, natural portals are opening more than usual, and the _new ghosts-_"

"Whoa, hold up." He raised his own hands. "What're you-"

"_Ghost!_"

Danny groaned and Desiree scowled. "Of all the times…"

In through the walls bust the Fenton RV. Pieces of the wall scattered about the room. Fortunately, no one was in the room to be hit by the vehicle or the debris. Unfortunately, his dad was driving which meant…

"Eat this, ghost scum!" His dad leapt out of the driver's side and his mom out the passenger's. Both aimed bazookas at the floating ghosts.

Desiree floated upwards. "See the Zone for yourself." Then she flickered out of sight.

"_Wait-_" He called but another round of "_ghost!_" garnered hisattention.

The teen sighed and opted to pull his own vanishing act. He disappeared. His orange-jumpsuit wearing father waved his bazooka around wildly, searching for the unseen ghosts. Sam and Tucker also decided to take their leave. The duo tossed away their cafeteria slop and hurried out of the room.

As soon as the double doors shut behind them, one Danny Phantom appeared. He dropped to the tiled floor and habitually checked for witnesses before he reverted back to human form.

"Aren't we gonna go after her?" Tucker wondered.

The boy shook his head. "I don't think she's here to cause trouble."

"Why _else _would she be here?" Sam pressed. "She's never warned us about trouble before-she's usually the one _causing _the trouble."

Danny frowned. "I know, but…" He floundered for words. "I just have this feeling."

"Yeah?" His techno friend prompted.

"The hourglass I knocked over, it had-"

Abruptly the bell rang and floods of students entered the halls. Danny silently fumed. _That's the second time today that I've been cut off. _Unable to continue discussing ghosts or risk being overheard, the trio shuffled off to class.


End file.
